This is where a company will seek to purchase competitors through: buying the stock of the other company (in the same industry). The idea is that by reducing the total amount of competitors, an organization will be able to have greater control over prices and consumer choices. In the health care industry this is problematic, as any kind of mergers / joint ventures could be considered to be an attempt to restrict choices. At which point, it is possible that the government could use this law to limit the overall activities of the company. This is because, they could make an effective argument that any kind of reduction in the amount of competition will adversely affect consumers. As the odds increase dramatically, that any attempts to consolidate will be considered to be anti-competitive. Given the fact that costs are increasing, any type of negative reaction could cause the organization, to face increased amounts of scrutiny down the road. ("The Sherman Anti-Trust Act," 2010) When you step back and analyze these different regulations, it is clear that the government could use them as a way to: limit various mergers and joint ventures for health care providers. As a result, the company needs to take these different laws into account and how they could be interpreted. As these two different regulations, are often used as a way to limit a host of mergers and acquisitions. Therefore, these laws must be taken into account, in an effort to understand how they could have an impact upon the industry in the future.

Clearly, the environment for health care providers is changing, as the increases in prices have been forcing the government to focus on this area. As a result, increased amounts of regulations...

This is because there is the belief among: the politicians and the general public that changes are needed within the industry. At which point, the odds increase dramatically that the government will use various laws to: evaluate and determine the impact that these kinds of transactions will have upon the sector. The main regulations that could pose the greatest challenges in the future are: the Robinson Patman Act and Celler Kefauver Act. This is because these two laws are focused on: the impact of various transactions inside the industry and their total effect upon consumers. Given the fact that prices have been increasing dramatically, means that there will more than likely be a liberal interpretation of these regulations. As the politicians and bureaucrats, are facing increased amounts of pressure from: an electorate that is unhappy with the current state of the industry. Over the course of time, this sense of anger will push for increased amounts of scrutiny and the possibility that proposed mergers / joint ventures could be rejected. At which point, it will become more difficult for the company to adjust to changes in the marketplace.
Bibliography

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act. (2010). Linfo. Retrieved from: http://www.linfo.org/sherman.html

Cushman, R. (1999). Construction Law Handbook. Gaithersburg: Aspen.

Hall, M. (2009). Health Insurance Profit Soars. AFL CIO. Retrieved from: http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/05/27/health-insurance-profits-soar-as-industry-mergers-create-near-monopoly/

Hewitt, I. (2004). Joint Ventures. London: Sweet and Maxwell.